VO2 Max and Resting Heart Rate
It may have not yet happened yet, but eventually your training goals change. Whether you are an elite professional athlete, a CrossFit addict, or someone that wants to drop a few pounds–eventually that all gets overshadowed by wanting to live a longer life. It could happen at 40, 50, or 60–but it’s coming.
Fortunately, science has some pretty definitive strategies for we humans who are trying to extend our stay. Research has solidly landed on VO2 Max and resting heart rate as two metrics that predict longevity, and luckily these are also two things that are commonly measured by today’s wearable devices. But, what are these metrics and what do they mean?
VO2 Max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise of increasing intensity. It’s your peak oxygen uptake. It is one of the standards for measuring your cardiorespiratory fitness. So, increasing it means your body can better handle running, biking, swimming, and other types of cardio exercise. Improving your VO2 Max will also help you have more energy throughout the day, help you reduce stress, and even help improve the functioning of your immune system. It is also one of those things that naturally gets worse as we age–so we have to fight to keep it.
Your resting heart rate (RHR) is pretty self-explanatory. Most wearable devices take an average of your RHR over a night’s sleep. In general, a lower RHR is a sign of greater health and cardiorespiratory fitness. Studies have also shown that a lower RHR is protective against heart attacks. A higher RHR (>80 bpm) could be a sign that you are under a lot of stress, or that your body is struggling to fight off sickness or disease.
Now, how do we improve these things? As we have mentioned in previous articles, the bulk of your cardio training (80%) should be Zone 2 cardio. To put it in the easiest terms, this is cardio training where it is easy to have a conversation during the activity. You can speak easily without gasping for air. This training zone is not just for the average person, or someone just starting out. Even elite athletes do 80% of their training at this effort level. Research has shown that it is the best training zone for developing and maintaining your aerobic capacity. It is also the go-to training for experts in the field of longevity.
Research shows that the more Zone 2 training you can do, the better. Of course, your training schedule has to fit well into your family, work, and social life. It needs to be sustainable. But in general, as the years go by–the more of this type of training you can do–the better. Because of the amazing developments in wearable devices, tracking your progress, with regards to cardiorespiratory fitness, has never been easier. We highly recommend that every person wears one of these devices. Besides being a great way to track progress, they are also great predictors of when something is going wrong inside your body.
So, get out there and get moving, and stick around awhile.
Until next time
Scott and Lennart